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Article PROVINCE OF SURREY. ← Page 2 of 3 Article PROVINCE OF SURREY. Page 2 of 3 →
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Province Of Surrey.
journey was accomplished . They reached the land of their heritage , the cities of their forefathers , the home of their childhood . When , on their arrival , they beheld the holy city , saw that its form and beauty were heaped in rains , its life aud happiness wrapped in desolation , their spirits most have sunk within them , and their expectations and hopes must have
died . The words of the prophet Isaiah must have found ex . pression in their hearts , saddening their faces , bedewing their eyes ; " Thy holy cities are a wilderness j Zion is a wilderness ; Jerusalem a desolation . Our holy and our beautiful house , where our fathers praised Thee , is burned up with fire , and all our pleasant things are laid waste . " And when the greatness of the work of restoration
presented itself to their bewildered senses , when they realised how inadequate they were in number and talent—though they were a nnmeron 8 company , and though they had a king ' s money , authority and friendship to aid them—then they must have felt themselves powerless to build a temple worthy of standing upon that foundation which bad supported a magnificent structure , that with its marvellous
beauty was deemed by Solomon in all his glory too mean a habitation for the King of heaven . But despondency was cast to the winds , and zeal and energy , and heart and soul , determination and industry , took its place . Faith , hope , and love , an ever blessed three , dispelled the hosts of doubt and despair . " When the seventh month was come , and the children of Israel were in their oities , the people
gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem . " The building of the altar of the God of Israel wa 3 their first care , so that " the continued burnt-offering , " that necessary part of their servioe , might be restored . They kept also " the feast of tabernacles , and of the new moons , and all the set feasts of the Lord that were conseseorated . . . bnt the foundations of the temple of the Lord
were not yet laid . ' The preparations , however , for this work were not neglected : for " they gave money to the masons aud to the car . penters ; and meat , and drink , and oil , nnto them of Sidon , and to them of Tyre , to bring cedar-trees from Lebanon , to the sea of Joppa , according to the grant that they had of Cyrus King of Persia . " In the second month of the second year
after their arrival in Jerusalem , a grand religious ceremony , remark , able for its pomp and solemnity , declared the fact that the founda . tion of the Temple was laid . A holy , deep , and general exultation amongst the people marked this happy and auspicious event . But there were some among them whose spirits were depressed with what they saw , whose emotions were stirred np in a fashion not
experienced by the rest , " Many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers , " we are told , " who were ancient men , that had seen the first house , when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes , wept with a loud voice . " The pitiful contrast whioh it exhibited to the golden Temple of the Son of David troubled their pious minds ; and a holy jealousy that the glory had departed from
Israel caused them to weep . Thus far , however , the work had proceeded , and God had prospered them according to their measure •bnt now new difficulties arose . Cutheans , whom the King of Assyria had brought in to colonize the country stolen from the transported ten tribes of Israel , were so incensed at not being allowed to join in the work of the restoration of the Temple , that they induced the
King , Artaxerxes , by letters maligning the Jews as factious and rebellious , to suspend the building until further orders . With " force and power " the adversaries of the Jews executed the King ' s deoree , and so ceased the work of the house of God whioh is in Jerusalem . Growing indolent , tho Jews taking this decree as a Divine intimation that the time was not yet come , readily acquiesced
—too readily it would appear—in the suspension of their work . Perhaps if the obstruction had been raised against tbe buildino- of their own homes , they would have tried to set themselves rightwith the civil powers , and to procure the removal of the unjust edict . As it was , the house of God was neglected . On this , two prophets were commissioned by God to reprove the people for their past neglect
, and to exhort and encourage them to prosecute the undertaking with renewed diligence . " Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts , saying , This people say , the time has not oome , the time that the Lord ' s house should be built ... Is it time for you , O ye , to dwell in your ceiled houses and this house lie waste ? Now , therefore , thus saith the Lord of hostsconsider your ways ... Go up to the
moun-, tain , and bring wood , and build the house ; and I will take pleasure in it , and I will be glorified , saith the Lord . " This was the reproof and exhortation ; and further encouragement was given . God ' s presence was to be with them ; His blessing was to attend their labours ; and because the meanness of their building disheartened them , a most gracious promise was made to them . " Who is left
among yon that saw this house in her first glory f and how do ye see it now ? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing ? Yet now he strong , O Zernbbabel , saith the Lord ; and be strong , 0 Joshua , son of Josedeoh , the high priest ; and be strong , all ye people of the land , saith tbe Lord , and work ; for I am with you , saith the ?„ . flosts •••and the desire of all nations shall come ; audi will fill this house with glory , saith tbe Lord of hosts . The silver
18 miDe > and the gold is mine , saith the Lord of hosts . The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former . . and in this place will I give peace , saith the Lord of hosts . " If difficulties sarrounded them , if a sea of perplexities well-ni gh overwhelmed thorn , « their enemies were many and powerful , then the word of the Lord nnto Zernbbabel was , "Not by might , nor by power , but by my spirit , saith the Lord of host 9 . Who art thou . 0 creat mountain :
"erore Zernbbabel thou shalt become a plain . " If Satan himself Pposed the work , if he assailed those engaged in it with desponding noughts , or with a conviction of self-unworthineas , in a vision the ° ra pleads their cause against the accuser , and rebukes the adver .
hSL ii aO 0 ; " Behold > I have caused thine iniquity to pass irom thee , and I will clothe thee with change of raiment . " i tney regarded the whole undertaking unworthy of the Divine H & nWOr J th / 0 fn the n 0 tice of 0 ne 80 h ' ' gh , the Mighty Lord * imself demanded : "Who hath despised the day of small things ?" OB power of the Most High aocompanied the word of the Prophets ,
Province Of Surrey.
and His Spirit effectually stirring up the hearts of His people , they " came and did work in the house of the Lord of host 3 their God . " They did not accomplish their pnrposo without further opposition , but God influenced the heart and will of Darius their king , and , the " great mountain becoming a plain , " the work prospered accordingly . Under such auspices the building was conduotcd , and after twenty
years of labour and of anticipation , tho Temple was at length completed and dedicated . Tho "Faith , " it has been said , " can receive normal injury except from its defenders . " " Against its assailants tho ? e who wish to be safe , God protects . " The narrative which we have now reviewed illustrates this remark . Not the Samaritans , not the pagan Persian governors , but the half-hearted , lukewarm , self-indulgent Jews
themselves were the real obstacles to the restoration of the house of God . Their faithful and true-hearted leaders could fight with their avowed enemies , but could not cope with the miserable indifference of the people themselves . It is worthy of remark that the prophets ' denunciations are not against the open adversaries of their faith and work , but against their own countrymen , who were only too ready to
give way to opposition , to fly from delays and difficulties . So it has ever been in the history of the Christian Church , The powers of evil have never done it so much harm as have the compromising , vaoiL lating , professedly safe , but really cowardly policy of its nominal friends and adherents . It would appear that it were the experience also of that society of whioh you and I , brethren , are members . The
calumnies of avowed enemies could not work us the harm that the impositions in life and teaching of a false Masonry have done . When the Craft lives np to its religions and human duties , it cannot be oharged with atheism or infidelity . Otherwise we are at a loss to understand the extraordinary charges which the Roman Pontiff has recently brought against our Order . Freemasonry , as known to
Englishmen , is very different in its precepts and praotices from that whioh has been piotured to the mind of his holiness the Pope . His lately published Encyclical letter formulates statements against the Brotherhood whioh onr experience declares to be without justification . When a sooiety dedicates the whole of its work to the great Founder of all sooiety , does worship to His Supreme Being , inculcates
reverenoe to His Sacred Laws , demands honour to His Holy Name , insists npon a literal and generous praotice of justice , mercy , and charity , on the part of its members ; re-echoes the words of our Prayer Book , to keep onr bodies in temperance , sobriety and ohastity , it seems incredible that it shonld be designated an atheistio and revolutionary thing . Our ceremonies
and obligations , brethren , are so many external and verbal demonstrations of a creed which Heaven ' s own ohorus sang , " Glory to God in the highest ; peace on earth , goodwill towards man . " The spirit of religion mantles all our Masonio acts . The fear of God is one of the cardinal points of its moral charter . " Prevent us , 0 Lord , in all our doings , " is the universal petition of Freemasonry . We ask for
divine grace to enable us to cultivate to the fullest extent those powers whioh God has given us . We pray that our lives aud actions may , under his direotion , be controlled by Masonio line and rulethat Hoe and rule being the square of God ' s Holy Word . Wo are tanght humility as well as the instinots of a common humanity—are educated as partakers of one and the same hop a , as heirs of a common
duty to God and to man . Why , my brethren , our presence here to-day is an absolute contradiction to the statement of the Encyclical letter . We are brought together annually to take part in an authorised re . ligious service in a sacred edifice , to show that we are workmen and servants in the great Temple of which the Divine Architect of the Universe is the founder ; to declare that the ordinary affairs of life
are ruled and governed and to be sanctified to tho glory of Him who has marked out tho limits of earth , and stars , and suns ; to proclaim that brotherly love aud union are a practical tribute of praise and gratitude to the infinite providence of the Most High—the Holy author of the supremest virtue—Charity . It is well that we should do so , for religion is the foundation of all worthy and enduring
society . Religion is the fear of God , and its demonstration is good works . It is the standard whioh defines that which is good , true , beautiful and eternal . It is a code whioh places a penalty upon that which is evil , false , perverse , transcient . Without it , it is not too much to say , life is not worth living ; for it is only the hope of reward and rest that sweetens the bitter experience of a sojourn in a scene
where the principal features are change and decay , where as a writer in the Old Testament says , " Man is born uuto trouble , as tbe sparks fly upwards . " These are the principles of Freemasonry , and so long as its rests upon the foundation of divine truth it will remain secure and sure ; and time aud it shall not lose their hold of each other until time is no more . If it seeks a new edifice , and builds it upon
a basis other than that of religion , it will meet the fate of all human institutions—it will decay and die . Over the portal of its Lodges will be written the word , " lohabod , thy glory hath departed . " Lastly and briefly , I would observe that another answer to the Pontiff ' s letter is found in the fact that not only in its ceremonies and charities does Freemasonry deolare itself to be
a society established upon a religions foundation , but also in the particularly handicraft nature of some of its work . The brethren in England can look around them , and , pointing to many a glorious church and Temple dedicated to the service of the Most High , can assert truly that they are not only Speculative but also Operative Craftsmen . Many a porch , a front , a tower , many a sacred edifice
which has been erected by the brethren is a silent testimony on tables of stone that they are in their Masonic capacity servants and worshippers of the Living God . To-day , my brethren , we are called upon to aid , as an act oi faith and love to oar Heavenly Father , aud as a true demonstration of onr principles , to contribute of our means and influence towards the restoration of the Chmch in which we are
now assembled . An appeal has never been made in vain to . Masons for alms towards such a work , and it is to be hoped , brethren , that your hearts and your bands will be open to-day , so as to assist in true Masonio fashion in making this edifice more perfect in itself , and more honourable to the builders . The more fie , the more costly , and more perfect it becomes , the more it is worthy of that service which
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Province Of Surrey.
journey was accomplished . They reached the land of their heritage , the cities of their forefathers , the home of their childhood . When , on their arrival , they beheld the holy city , saw that its form and beauty were heaped in rains , its life aud happiness wrapped in desolation , their spirits most have sunk within them , and their expectations and hopes must have
died . The words of the prophet Isaiah must have found ex . pression in their hearts , saddening their faces , bedewing their eyes ; " Thy holy cities are a wilderness j Zion is a wilderness ; Jerusalem a desolation . Our holy and our beautiful house , where our fathers praised Thee , is burned up with fire , and all our pleasant things are laid waste . " And when the greatness of the work of restoration
presented itself to their bewildered senses , when they realised how inadequate they were in number and talent—though they were a nnmeron 8 company , and though they had a king ' s money , authority and friendship to aid them—then they must have felt themselves powerless to build a temple worthy of standing upon that foundation which bad supported a magnificent structure , that with its marvellous
beauty was deemed by Solomon in all his glory too mean a habitation for the King of heaven . But despondency was cast to the winds , and zeal and energy , and heart and soul , determination and industry , took its place . Faith , hope , and love , an ever blessed three , dispelled the hosts of doubt and despair . " When the seventh month was come , and the children of Israel were in their oities , the people
gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem . " The building of the altar of the God of Israel wa 3 their first care , so that " the continued burnt-offering , " that necessary part of their servioe , might be restored . They kept also " the feast of tabernacles , and of the new moons , and all the set feasts of the Lord that were conseseorated . . . bnt the foundations of the temple of the Lord
were not yet laid . ' The preparations , however , for this work were not neglected : for " they gave money to the masons aud to the car . penters ; and meat , and drink , and oil , nnto them of Sidon , and to them of Tyre , to bring cedar-trees from Lebanon , to the sea of Joppa , according to the grant that they had of Cyrus King of Persia . " In the second month of the second year
after their arrival in Jerusalem , a grand religious ceremony , remark , able for its pomp and solemnity , declared the fact that the founda . tion of the Temple was laid . A holy , deep , and general exultation amongst the people marked this happy and auspicious event . But there were some among them whose spirits were depressed with what they saw , whose emotions were stirred np in a fashion not
experienced by the rest , " Many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers , " we are told , " who were ancient men , that had seen the first house , when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes , wept with a loud voice . " The pitiful contrast whioh it exhibited to the golden Temple of the Son of David troubled their pious minds ; and a holy jealousy that the glory had departed from
Israel caused them to weep . Thus far , however , the work had proceeded , and God had prospered them according to their measure •bnt now new difficulties arose . Cutheans , whom the King of Assyria had brought in to colonize the country stolen from the transported ten tribes of Israel , were so incensed at not being allowed to join in the work of the restoration of the Temple , that they induced the
King , Artaxerxes , by letters maligning the Jews as factious and rebellious , to suspend the building until further orders . With " force and power " the adversaries of the Jews executed the King ' s deoree , and so ceased the work of the house of God whioh is in Jerusalem . Growing indolent , tho Jews taking this decree as a Divine intimation that the time was not yet come , readily acquiesced
—too readily it would appear—in the suspension of their work . Perhaps if the obstruction had been raised against tbe buildino- of their own homes , they would have tried to set themselves rightwith the civil powers , and to procure the removal of the unjust edict . As it was , the house of God was neglected . On this , two prophets were commissioned by God to reprove the people for their past neglect
, and to exhort and encourage them to prosecute the undertaking with renewed diligence . " Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts , saying , This people say , the time has not oome , the time that the Lord ' s house should be built ... Is it time for you , O ye , to dwell in your ceiled houses and this house lie waste ? Now , therefore , thus saith the Lord of hostsconsider your ways ... Go up to the
moun-, tain , and bring wood , and build the house ; and I will take pleasure in it , and I will be glorified , saith the Lord . " This was the reproof and exhortation ; and further encouragement was given . God ' s presence was to be with them ; His blessing was to attend their labours ; and because the meanness of their building disheartened them , a most gracious promise was made to them . " Who is left
among yon that saw this house in her first glory f and how do ye see it now ? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing ? Yet now he strong , O Zernbbabel , saith the Lord ; and be strong , 0 Joshua , son of Josedeoh , the high priest ; and be strong , all ye people of the land , saith tbe Lord , and work ; for I am with you , saith the ?„ . flosts •••and the desire of all nations shall come ; audi will fill this house with glory , saith tbe Lord of hosts . The silver
18 miDe > and the gold is mine , saith the Lord of hosts . The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former . . and in this place will I give peace , saith the Lord of hosts . " If difficulties sarrounded them , if a sea of perplexities well-ni gh overwhelmed thorn , « their enemies were many and powerful , then the word of the Lord nnto Zernbbabel was , "Not by might , nor by power , but by my spirit , saith the Lord of host 9 . Who art thou . 0 creat mountain :
"erore Zernbbabel thou shalt become a plain . " If Satan himself Pposed the work , if he assailed those engaged in it with desponding noughts , or with a conviction of self-unworthineas , in a vision the ° ra pleads their cause against the accuser , and rebukes the adver .
hSL ii aO 0 ; " Behold > I have caused thine iniquity to pass irom thee , and I will clothe thee with change of raiment . " i tney regarded the whole undertaking unworthy of the Divine H & nWOr J th / 0 fn the n 0 tice of 0 ne 80 h ' ' gh , the Mighty Lord * imself demanded : "Who hath despised the day of small things ?" OB power of the Most High aocompanied the word of the Prophets ,
Province Of Surrey.
and His Spirit effectually stirring up the hearts of His people , they " came and did work in the house of the Lord of host 3 their God . " They did not accomplish their pnrposo without further opposition , but God influenced the heart and will of Darius their king , and , the " great mountain becoming a plain , " the work prospered accordingly . Under such auspices the building was conduotcd , and after twenty
years of labour and of anticipation , tho Temple was at length completed and dedicated . Tho "Faith , " it has been said , " can receive normal injury except from its defenders . " " Against its assailants tho ? e who wish to be safe , God protects . " The narrative which we have now reviewed illustrates this remark . Not the Samaritans , not the pagan Persian governors , but the half-hearted , lukewarm , self-indulgent Jews
themselves were the real obstacles to the restoration of the house of God . Their faithful and true-hearted leaders could fight with their avowed enemies , but could not cope with the miserable indifference of the people themselves . It is worthy of remark that the prophets ' denunciations are not against the open adversaries of their faith and work , but against their own countrymen , who were only too ready to
give way to opposition , to fly from delays and difficulties . So it has ever been in the history of the Christian Church , The powers of evil have never done it so much harm as have the compromising , vaoiL lating , professedly safe , but really cowardly policy of its nominal friends and adherents . It would appear that it were the experience also of that society of whioh you and I , brethren , are members . The
calumnies of avowed enemies could not work us the harm that the impositions in life and teaching of a false Masonry have done . When the Craft lives np to its religions and human duties , it cannot be oharged with atheism or infidelity . Otherwise we are at a loss to understand the extraordinary charges which the Roman Pontiff has recently brought against our Order . Freemasonry , as known to
Englishmen , is very different in its precepts and praotices from that whioh has been piotured to the mind of his holiness the Pope . His lately published Encyclical letter formulates statements against the Brotherhood whioh onr experience declares to be without justification . When a sooiety dedicates the whole of its work to the great Founder of all sooiety , does worship to His Supreme Being , inculcates
reverenoe to His Sacred Laws , demands honour to His Holy Name , insists npon a literal and generous praotice of justice , mercy , and charity , on the part of its members ; re-echoes the words of our Prayer Book , to keep onr bodies in temperance , sobriety and ohastity , it seems incredible that it shonld be designated an atheistio and revolutionary thing . Our ceremonies
and obligations , brethren , are so many external and verbal demonstrations of a creed which Heaven ' s own ohorus sang , " Glory to God in the highest ; peace on earth , goodwill towards man . " The spirit of religion mantles all our Masonio acts . The fear of God is one of the cardinal points of its moral charter . " Prevent us , 0 Lord , in all our doings , " is the universal petition of Freemasonry . We ask for
divine grace to enable us to cultivate to the fullest extent those powers whioh God has given us . We pray that our lives aud actions may , under his direotion , be controlled by Masonio line and rulethat Hoe and rule being the square of God ' s Holy Word . Wo are tanght humility as well as the instinots of a common humanity—are educated as partakers of one and the same hop a , as heirs of a common
duty to God and to man . Why , my brethren , our presence here to-day is an absolute contradiction to the statement of the Encyclical letter . We are brought together annually to take part in an authorised re . ligious service in a sacred edifice , to show that we are workmen and servants in the great Temple of which the Divine Architect of the Universe is the founder ; to declare that the ordinary affairs of life
are ruled and governed and to be sanctified to tho glory of Him who has marked out tho limits of earth , and stars , and suns ; to proclaim that brotherly love aud union are a practical tribute of praise and gratitude to the infinite providence of the Most High—the Holy author of the supremest virtue—Charity . It is well that we should do so , for religion is the foundation of all worthy and enduring
society . Religion is the fear of God , and its demonstration is good works . It is the standard whioh defines that which is good , true , beautiful and eternal . It is a code whioh places a penalty upon that which is evil , false , perverse , transcient . Without it , it is not too much to say , life is not worth living ; for it is only the hope of reward and rest that sweetens the bitter experience of a sojourn in a scene
where the principal features are change and decay , where as a writer in the Old Testament says , " Man is born uuto trouble , as tbe sparks fly upwards . " These are the principles of Freemasonry , and so long as its rests upon the foundation of divine truth it will remain secure and sure ; and time aud it shall not lose their hold of each other until time is no more . If it seeks a new edifice , and builds it upon
a basis other than that of religion , it will meet the fate of all human institutions—it will decay and die . Over the portal of its Lodges will be written the word , " lohabod , thy glory hath departed . " Lastly and briefly , I would observe that another answer to the Pontiff ' s letter is found in the fact that not only in its ceremonies and charities does Freemasonry deolare itself to be
a society established upon a religions foundation , but also in the particularly handicraft nature of some of its work . The brethren in England can look around them , and , pointing to many a glorious church and Temple dedicated to the service of the Most High , can assert truly that they are not only Speculative but also Operative Craftsmen . Many a porch , a front , a tower , many a sacred edifice
which has been erected by the brethren is a silent testimony on tables of stone that they are in their Masonic capacity servants and worshippers of the Living God . To-day , my brethren , we are called upon to aid , as an act oi faith and love to oar Heavenly Father , aud as a true demonstration of onr principles , to contribute of our means and influence towards the restoration of the Chmch in which we are
now assembled . An appeal has never been made in vain to . Masons for alms towards such a work , and it is to be hoped , brethren , that your hearts and your bands will be open to-day , so as to assist in true Masonio fashion in making this edifice more perfect in itself , and more honourable to the builders . The more fie , the more costly , and more perfect it becomes , the more it is worthy of that service which